What is accident and health insurance?
The term “accident and health insurance” is inclusive of specific employer-sponsored policies.
It is a type of insurance that provides rewards in the event of illness, accidental harm, or accidental death. If it is related to a loan, it may occasionally pay for lost income or debt repayment.
Deeper definition
Standard health care plans may not be enough for some employees. That’s why many businesses give their workforce the chance to pick from accident and health insurance choices related to their own needs. They aren’t stand-alone policies, nor should they take the place of traditional workplace insurance plans.
Accident insurance covers workers for any mishap that may occur while they’re at work. Workers who choose this supplemental policy can use it to pay for expenses from initial care, surgery, transportation and lodging, and follow-up health care.
To file a claim for this type of insurance, workers must show proof they were injured, including in-depth medical reports from the hospital or attending physician.
In addition, two insurance plans under this category deal with life-threatening illnesses. Critical illness coverage deals with a variety of specific ailments, while cancer policies directly deal with any form of the disease.
Cancer coverage kicks if an employee is diagnosed with the disease while working for a company. As the person’s traditional health care plan takes care of most medical expenses, this plan pays for any additional costs that may come up during the treatment.
After a positive diagnosis, recovery time also requires additional services such as in-home care that might otherwise be dropped by traditional insurance policies.
Under both critical illness and cancer plans, additional costs from treatment and recovery are paid.
Accident and health insurance example
After falling off a ladder while reaching for an item, Joe is transported to the hospital with injuries that are not life threatening. He is diagnosed and treated for a broken leg. All medical expenses are covered through his company’s health insurance plan.
Since he has accident insurance, his additional expenses, such as rent and groceries, are covered. As the healing process continues, he is evaluated to continue or end the additional payments when he is ready to resume his job.